Press Release

09/09/2011 4:35 PM ET

Fans to help select baseball's Man of the Year

MLBPA Press Release

NEW YORK -- Beginning Friday, fans voting online will help select the Major League baseball player whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement. Fan-voting for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award will be conducted on www.MLBPLAYERS.com, the official website of Major League baseball players, through 12 p.m. ET Monday, Sept. 12.

The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is bestowed annually by Major League players, along with nine other Players Choice Awards, to honor the players they believe are the best in the game. Players on each of the 30 Major League teams have nominated one teammate as a candidate for the 2011 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

Fans now may visit MLBPLAYERS.com to select their favorite among the nominees. Six division finalists chosen by the fans will appear on the PLAYERS CHOICE AWARDS ballot when all Major Leaguers vote Sept. 13-14 to select the winner.

Brandon Inge of the Tigers was the recipient of the 2010 Man of the Year Award. Brandon works closely with C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. He frequently visits C.S. Mott and other local hospitals to form lasting bonds with children and their families. In 2007, Brandon and his wife, Shani, made a $100,000 donation to Mott Children's Hospital to help fund a pediatric cancer infusion center. Past winners of the award, named for the legendary baseball union leader, also include Curtis Granderson, Michael Young, Torii Hunter, Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, John Smoltz, Mike Sweeney, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Eric Davis and Paul Molitor.

The 2011 Players Choice Awards also honor the outstanding player, rookie, pitcher and comeback player in each league, as well as the overall Outstanding Player of the Year. 2011 Players Choice Award winners in all categories will designate charities to receive grants totaling $260,000 from the Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has recognized the outstanding on-field and off-field performances of Players Choice Awards winners by contributing more than $3 million to charities around the world.

The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.